About six weeks ago, our tumble dryer broke. At the time, this seemed a tragedy…yes, talk about hyperbolic! Of course, tragedy was far too strong a word to use, but it certainly felt difficult.
We could not afford to replace it.
But there are seven of us living in the house, most of whom do their own laundry.
Which is wonderful!
I am blessed to have independent children who happily do their own washing. We each have our own wash day. Charlotte and Ads share a wash day as do Gary and I. With the tumble dryer, this was working well.
Since the death of the tumble dryer, each wash day has become longer as clothes hang around the house trying to dry.
Of course, with independent children come independent opinions…which none have any problem expressing.
The general consensus is that we can not operate as a family without a tumble dryer.
I don’t know though. I’m not sure I agree.
I am by nature a glass half full kind of person. In fact, half full will often feel to me like overflowing as I purposefully search for the positives in everything.
I am the most content person I know.
And, if I focus on all the positives not having a tumble dryer gives us, then I am not convinced of our need for one.
Yes, I absolutely know and understand that it is better for the environment without a tumble dryer. That kind of goes without saying.
I am talking more immediate specific advantages to each and everyone of us in our home, rather than (the very important) longer wider advantages to the world.
For example, our home smells really quite pleasant with wet freshly laundered clothes hanging from every possible door and radiator. I walk into our living room to a scent of Fairy liquid tabs (the only thing I’m not allergic to anymore) rather than dog.
Y’know, it makes a very lovely change.
When the radiator is on, the damp clothes give the air in our home some much needed humidity. There is a potential problem with this and that is mould, but the radiator heat has stopped that happening so far.
The best thing, by far, though, has been the days where we can hang the laundry outside.
I am learning just how important any sunlight is to our health, our circadian rhythms and therefore our sleep.
I do anything I can to spend time outside now.
And hanging out the laundry is one part of that. I love being outside. We have a pretty garden, away from the noises of roads and traffic. Birds sing, butterflies flutter by, kitty cats play nearby and our dog also enthusiastically joins me whilst I hang the laundry.
Happy sigh.
Then there is the obvious effect not having a tumble dryer will have on our electricity bill, which in this day and age is no small thing.
And lastly there is the huge hole where it sits. When we take it to the dump we will suddenly have a large storage area which in our small home housing seven plus people is desperately needed.
I really don’t think we need a tumble dryer, and the benefits of not having one completely out weigh the benefits of having one.
What are you learning you can live without as you get older?